1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to dental appliances and particularly to removable saliva ejector biting blocks and mouth rests.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Bite blocks used as mouth rests are well known to dentistry. The devices, however, tend to be physically large and cumbersome and the devices tend to obstruct the view of the mouth--"the working field"--of the dental professional. In addition, many of the devices are not easily usable by a dental professional who is working without an assistant and they are not very stable in cooperation with lip, tongue and gag reflexes. Oftentimes, due to these limitations, the saliva ejector is not always positioned for optimum fluid and debris removal. In addition, such devices are often made of hard materials, often posing a danger to chipping of a patient's teeth.
An example of one such prior art device includes a receptacle supported at the end of a drain tube. The drain tube has a bite block mounted thereon. The receptacle is complex in shape and the bite block is spherical and made of hard rubber mixed with clay or a like inelastic filler. As a result, the bite block can easily roll from one tooth to another in an unstable support condition.
Another prior art device includes a complex arrangement of left and right tongue guards connected to a bite block by means of a score line structure. To work on either side of a patient's mouth, one or the other tongue guard must be broken, resulting in a cumbersome device, and an unnecessary complex operation.
Yet still another prior art device provides a bite tube with a hole through which a tongue deflector/aspirator tube is passed. The bite tube is held by a patient's teeth in a manner enabling the edges of the tube to contact a patient's gums. This poses a danger of damage to the patient's gums due to the sharp edges of the tube. This configuration also blocks access to the instrumentation at gum line areas.
In accordance with the invention, the complexities and the disadvantages of the prior art are avoided. A bite block is provided which is simple to use, does not pose a danger of damage to a patient's mouth, allows workability in the area the device is positioned, is inexpensive to manufacture and can be made disposable.